On the Loss of Sanity
by TwilightPrincessofSarcasm
Summary: A lot of us choose to ignore how dark the world is. Zelda was one of those people, until the day before graduation. But what she didn't expect was the effect it would have on her, and the effect she would have on the world. (College AU) (Kinda a detective thing too) (Kinda Romance later) RAPE/NON-CON.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi~ I was previously Lizzie Hyrule, But I'm matching usernames. My Tumblr, AO3, and Fanfiction are now all the same! :D Anyway, this is also over in AO3. It's a collab with my best friend. (ClassicRockintheTardis over there).**

 **We're really trying to go places with this one. There's a lot in store for this particular fic :)**

 **WARNING: INCLUDES ATTEMPTED RAPE**

 **Chapter one: It had to Start Somewhere**

 **NOTE: Every line is a signal for a POV switch.**

No one else saw the signs, but I knew. I could see how Zant was toying with her in class. I saw the inappropriate looks that he gave her. And all I thought was that this girl probably didn't even care, so long as she maintained her perfect GPA. I always thought she was acting the way she thought a nice girl was supposed to. No one could be as nice as she is without an ulterior motive. Besides, she rarely gained anything but experience for her college applications. Seriously, she had to have been trying to get even further ahead. All she wanted was to go to a big shot university and leave our small town behind.

I didn't report Zant. What would be the point, she'd find another way to get her "education". Who am I to judge. I'm just quiet Link. The one who sits in the corner and makes a sarcastic quip out loud every once and awhile.

But even a sarcastic guy like me can tell when something's about to go wrong. I had honestly thought Zelda welcomed his comments. She never seemed to stop him. (Though I have to admit she never exactly responded to them.) But when it continued into the last few days of school, Zelda was more and more uncomfortable sitting in that class with him.

* * *

I'm a dedicated student. I hand in all my assignments on time, and I pay attention in class. I even completed every extra credit assignment just in case I missed anything. I showed up at every charity event, I helped my fellow students without fail, and I never missed anything that truly mattered in our school community. I never did any of this because I wanted to… No, that's just what everyone expected out of me, "the model student".

I am Zelda Morna, the one set to be Valedictorian. The one that everyone saw a bright future for. I was the good natured girl that no one could say a single bad word about. But be that as it may, everyone has a breaking point. And I met mine in the form of Mr. Zant.

Teachers always have a favorite student. I just happened to be his. I knew it of course. He always had something nice to say to me when I left class. But his attraction to me became more and more apparent over the last few months of school. I made sure never to be in his classroom alone, but I had never reported him. I mean, after all, he was just making comments. I had too many other things to make time for. But it progressed further. His advances were very open by the last month of school. He had continued to say that he couldn't wait until I had my diploma. He couldn't wait until I was "free".

* * *

She was well known to the school. Of course she was. Top of her class since she was in kindergarten. Every teacher hoped to have her in their class, hoped to have that model student, especially for those of us who teach the sciences. Children don't particularly care for learning the fine details of our universe. They're more concerned with who's on Dancing with the Stars and attending the school's football games. So for a student to be intelligent, to care about the delicate intricacies of the world, I was more than happy to help her open her eyes even further. I expected her to be intelligent. I did not expect her to be beautiful. Her mother was Gerudo, her father a Hylian, so she inherited her mother's coffee tinted skin, smooth and wavy rich brown hair, but she had her father's sky blue eyes, making her striking. She wasn't like the other girls in the school, with their anorexic skeletons, painted faces, and perfectly straightened platinum blonde hair. She was foreign, and sexier than any woman I'd ever been with. I'd let my eyes roam over her curves, from her breasts to her slim waist and broad hips. I pictured her topless, and she was beautiful. Her legs were powerful and muscular, with more curves leading up to her perfect ass. I'd wished she'd show herself off like other girls try to, in their low cut tops that accentuate nothing and their skinny jeans that fit them like straight legged. The best parts of my day was when I let my eyes take in her image, and let my mind imagine what she'd look like naked and panting underneath me while I taught her the most important lesson a girl can learn: how to please a man.

* * *

But even without the suggestive comments and gestures, Zant made me shiver. And those blank yellow eyes, framed by flashy eye liner. Even his lips were done-up. And don't even get me started on his fashion sense. There were bow ties and flashy plaid suit jackets. Mismatched patterns everywhere. And that voice was always hoarse and raspy. You could tell he had something inappropriate on his mind... All day, everyday. Why. Why was this man allowed to be a teacher? And a science teacher at that. You HAD to take one of his classes at some point. Because obviously it is everyone's dream to have a class with a creeper. (Yes, sign me up for creeper 101).

* * *

Graduation was tomorrow. I was so happy because I'd finally be away from him. His comments grew more and more explicit, and I longed for the day I could finally be rid of him. I'd avoided him thus far, when, the day before my sweet release, I forgot my bag in his classroom. I weighed my odds, but my phone and laptop were in that bag, and I'd remembered in enough time that I could probably make it back in time for there to still be students around. Sure enough, I was right. The lights were already dimmed, but there was still one student there, a shier boy named Link. He tended to sit in the corner, doing his work quietly. Once in awhile, we ended up being partners on assignments, and I liked him. He may have been quiet, but he was a nice kid.

* * *

I still wasn't worried for Zelda. She tended to handle herself very well. Even if there was a problem it really wasn't mine to deal with.

She forgot her bag in class today though. I wasn't quite sure why. She's very put together. I thought about grabbing it for half a minute, but then I remembered my social anxiety. Sure, My head is full of thoughts where I do good deeds. But that never gets me to actually help anyone. So I left it. She'll be okay. I was the last one out of the classroom though… She was running past me.

Now she's alone in there… with him.

With the guy who's been less and less shy about making passes at her...

Oh damnit.

So I ran back as well. But when I reached for the door, it was locked. Oh no. Oh noohnoohno. I banged on that door, but I knew I couldn't open it. I ran. I sprinted. She needed my help. I wasn't going to be that person that let her get hurt. Thankfully our Vice Principal wasn't too far away. But it took me awhile to convince him to follow me. I didn't know how much time had passed. I had had enough of talking and so I grabbed his hand and yanked him to that classroom door.

"Open it please!"

* * *

Unfortunately, he left right as I entered. I still figured I could grab my bag and be out of there before anything happened.

I was wrong.

* * *

Finally, we were alone together. She was even more beautiful in the dim lighting, without the harsh artificial lights of the school blaring down. I quietly locked the door behind me, not wanting to be interrupted. She was bent over, grabbing her bag that she had come back for. For a few seconds, I simply let my gaze take in her glory. She was wearing a light weight summer dress, modest but still accentuating her curves in a way that made her irresistible. God, the things I wanted to do to her, the ways I wanted her...but one step at a time. First, I must teach her the basics.

* * *

I was just zipping up my bag, ready to sling it over my shoulder and bolt when I was suddenly grabbed from behind. I felt his breathe in my ear, as his voice grated over me. I can't remember exactly what he said, but I knew enough to be scared. Very scared. He pulled my closer as I struggled, and I felt something, something I never wanted to feel again.

* * *

I came up behind her, grabbing her waist and pulling her close to me. She trembled, breathing in sharply. I nuzzled her neck, breathing in her scent, before whispering in her ear, "No need to be afraid, my dear. I know you're a fast learner."

She tried to pull away, but I slid my hands to her front, holding her in place as I pressed my erection against her perfect ass, pulling up the front her her dress slowly and slipped my hand into her underwear. I pressed one finger into her, then another, jerking her up and back into me as she cried out.

* * *

I couldn't believe this was actually happening. He lifted the hem of my dress, and suddenly, I felt him inside of me. I was crying by now, I could feel the tears on my face, and I screamed as he suddenly jerked me hard by the fingers inside of me. Oh god, it felt so wrong, I didn't even want to struggle anymore because that would just put me in more contact with him.

* * *

"Shh, it's okay," I whispered to her. "The first time is always the hardest. But you'll learn."

I left my fingers in her, still rhythmically jerking her up, but reached the hand holding her in place down to unzip my pants, and –

* * *

As soon as he let go of me, I gathered all my strength, remembering lessons from the basic self defense course I had taken, and elbowed him in the nose. Hard.

Suddenly, she threw her elbow back, hitting me in the nose. I jerked back, pulling my hand out of her, and she ran towards the door, trying the handle, but it wouldn't budge. I was the one who had the key. We had all the time in the world.

* * *

He immediately pulled his hand out of me, crying out and clutching his nose. I didn't waste time to admire my work, I quickly raced to the door, trying to get out of there. It was locked. When did he even lock the damn thing? I jiggled the handle for a few seconds, hoping that maybe it was just stuck, before quickly giving up. I heard banging on the other side of the door, maybe someone trying to get in, someone who had heard something. But he was still coming towards me, calling me his "dear." I didn't have time to hope someone would rescue me.

* * *

She quickly realized the door wasn't going to open, and fled to the other side of the room, trying to put as much space between me and her and she could. She wasn't going to get away that easily.

"Come now, my dear," I drawled. "We both know, just because you missed a class doesn't mean you don't have to take the test."

* * *

I ran to the other side of the room, trying to get away from him, but he kept coming at me, and now he had me cornered. I searched for something, anything that could help me, when I remembered...the drawers in the cabinets behind me.

We kept all sorts of equipment in them, rubber stoppers, glass mixers, pipettes...and scapulas. Metal and sharp, we normally used them for scraping dried chemicals out of bottles. But for me, it was the only weapon I had at hand.

He was still coming towards me, and I slowly and carefully backed myself up to the right drawer, opening it softly and closing my hand around one of the scapulas, hoping he wouldn't notice. The only thing I had going for me would be the element of surprise.

He grabbed me, as I knew he would, and for one second, I considered stabbing him in the arm or the leg, something to make him stop but not hurt him too badly. Then I thought about what he tried, was still trying, to do to me, and I made my choice.

I swung my arm out and plunged the metal instrument into his eye with all my strength, hoping to drive it in with enough force.

He immediately screamed, clutching his eye, and fell backwards. He twitched for a few moments, but my aim was true. Finally, he stopped moving, even though blood was still splurting out of his eye.

* * *

I grabbed her once more, forcibly pressing her towards me, ready to teach her all I knew, when I saw a flash of metal in her hand and suddenly felt a searing pain in my eye. I screamed, my hands flying towards the scapula she must have found on the back counter, now shoved into my eye, I stumbled backwards and fell backwards. The last thing I felt was my head hitting the tiled floor with a sickening crack and the cold metal piercing my brain.

* * *

I stood there, staring at his body, my mind racing with what had just almost happened to me and what I had done. There was blood on my hands and my dress, and probably some on my face. The door opened, and Link rushed in, followed slowly by the vice principal, who looked bored and off-put. That quickly changed. Both of them stared at the scene before them, and I knew that as bad as it looked, I'd have no problem with a legal defense. My face still displayed the appropriate horror and fear even if I was smiling slightly, and in some respects, it wasn't an act.

* * *

I don't remember his reply. I don't remember much except the sight of Zelda.

Red stains on her face and clothes. She looked as if she couldn't even breathe. But she had a slight smile…. It was unnatural. Even if she seemed pretentious, and maybe even cold… No one saw this coming.

She was in shock while the police tried to question her. Or so I thought.

When the car she was in pulled away, I saw the smile. She thought that she had done the world a favor. And I thought she had too. And I knew in that moment, if she needed an ally, I would be there for her.

* * *

I was scared. But I wasn't scared of the fact that I killed him. No... I was scared because I enjoyed it. Someone called 911, and the world rushed around me. The police asked me questions, like what he did, how far it got, before the vice principal stepped in, telling them to leave me alone because I had just gone through a trauma. As he led me away, driving me home, I made sure to keep up the pretense of being shocked and shattered. It was only when he drove away that I let myself smile. The world would be better without scum like him. In fact… maybe I should help the world. Yes, I should rid the world of the evil that plagues it! This isn't the best origin story for a Hero, but we all have to start somewhere.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello again! My friend and I are trying to update this every two weeks. We are both college kids though, so you know how that goes. xD**

 **And I want to mention, if anyone has an issue following the different points of view, I will change the text to suit your needs. Don't forget to review or PM! :D**

 **Chapter 2: Just a Step to the Right**

It didn't take long for the whole school to be buzzing. No one knew what happened, they just knew that the famous Zelda Morna was being escorted out of the building in a shock blanket. Rumors circled, each more ridiculous than the last, and it didn't take long for the administration to realize they had to give an explanation before some imaginative student stumbled upon the truth.

I suspect they also feared me telling, even though they had already given me the whole "keep this discrete" spiel. I'd also listened in to the investigators while being detained by the police for questioning. You find out more information that way. Sue me.

"We won't be issuing any statements to the press. This is staying between us and the courtrooms. This shouldn't be too hard to keep covered. It's classic self-defense. She's an honor student, and her father owns the largest Oil Company in the country. These people are not about to let this get out, and if her father knows, he won't either. This school is already paying us, the girl, and the boy who saw a great sum to keep it under wraps. They haven't decided the cover story yet, but they're about to since they're having all remaining students gather. You know how kids are, better to feed false rumors than let them try and figure out the truth."

Our school is apparently so well-off that it can pay to keep the press off of any potential headliners. Wow. Who would have thought? The money probably wouldn't mean a thing to Zelda. I doubted no "great sum" in the world could be enough to make much of a difference to her family's wealth. For me, well that was a different story. I only went to this school because I had a full track scholarship. As awful as it sounds, something useful came out of this; I'd be able to go to college.

The questioning was fairly straightforward. What had I seen? How had I known Zant? What were my impressions of him and Zelda?

I told them the truth. Well, almost all of the truth. I told them I'd had a feeling that Zant was a creep far before this happened, what with the gross comments and everything, and that he was honestly a dickwad and wouldn't be missed. Zelda was a fairly calm girl, whatever she'd done must have been her last resort.

I didn't tell them about the smile. They didn't need to know that.

I wasn't sure what their story was gonna be. Probably some shit about gas leaks or chemistry equipment malfunctions. No one saw the exposed body but Zelda, me, the VP, and the police, and none of us were gonna tell. At any rate, it wasn't my problem.

Zelda was my problem.

* * *

They gave me a check.

My school gave me a check to keep me quiet. They think that this pacifies me enough to keep this whole incident a secret. I have no interest in money. My father has plenty. I didn't need to be bribed to keep this under the radar. No one needs to know about this. I don't want people to know that I killed him. I don't want them to know what happened behind that locked door. I'm supposed to be perfect. They expect me to be perfect. If I can't meet everyone's expectations, how can I go back and face them? The school asks me to be a role model. That's supposed to be an important part of my education. It was very important to the school. It mattered to the college I decided to attend. But I did not feel that it mattered to me anymore.

I had started to wonder if I had found something that truly matters. I mean, what if i could really rid the world of the scum like Zant? But what would give me that authority? How would I be able to judge who could stay in this world? But has anyone been out there, stopping those people who decide that they can live free and harm the lives of the innocent? Who gives them the right to change someone's life forever?

I just don't have that right. I don't. But I want to help those like me.

I've felt so disgusted… with myself, because I shouldn't have enjoyed killing a man. With Zant because of the things he tried to do to me.

And it can't leave my mind. He was so close to finishing what he had started.

So close. He was too close. He's still too close. Those eyes are still staring at me.

His hands are still touching me. Still inside me. In every touch and gaze i feel myself scream. I'm trying and trying to ignore them. Those It isn't real. It didn't go that far. I got away. Zelda you got away.

No, I didn't just get away….I got rid of him. Yes. He's gone now. Don't worry Zelda. Everything's okay.

* * *

I paced back and forth in front of her house, wondering if I should knock, if I should ring the doorbell, what was the proper way to conduct this. There's no wikihow page for "How to Tell the Girl You've Like for Years who has Never Noticed You that You Want to Join Them in their Vigilante Mission that You can Tell They Want to Go On."

It's a weird experience being the quiet kid in high school. No one really knows you, but you know everyone, probably better than they know themselves. If you study someone for long enough, you can pick up on their tells, like in poker. People follow patterns, maybe not the patterns depicted by society, but individual patterns. You can see it in their stance, their shoulders, their breathing, the pitch of their voice, and most of all, their eyes. And I've had plenty of time to study people. No one really wanted to talk to me. It's the classic class relations: rich kids don't like the scholarship kid. I'm ok with it. Gave me more time to watch and learn.

And the one I knew the best was Zelda. Of course, everyone knew her. She was fairly straightforward.

Until today.

Still this left me with the problem that although I knew her, she didn't know me. I couldn't just turn up on her doorstep like, "Hey, sorry you just got sexually assaulted and killed a guy, but I think he had it coming and I think we could make a good team in taking down others like him?"

And what if I was wrong? What if I'd imagined the smile, what if I'd made up what I thought it meant because I wanted us to be in sync? I've had a crush on Zelda Morna since we were kids. She was the only one who didn't try to eat dirt during recess.

Guess I'm attracted to the sophisticated type.

By now, I'd probably paced up and down her street about ten times. Hopefully no one would think twice about it, I often go jogging around here, but still, after what happened, I didn't want to draw any attention to me of her.

I finally ran up the three stairs leading to her porch, hesitating slightly on the stoop before knocking on the door.

There was no answer.

I knocked again, before their PA system buzzed, Zelda's voice ringing out slightly tinny and covered in static.

"Hello?"

It was hard to tell over the scratchy PA system, but she didn't sound great.

I pressed the button to respond, feeling awkward. I had to hunch over a bit to get my mouth down to the speaker, my unruly blonde hair falling in my face.

"Um, hi, Zelda. It's me. I mean, it's Link. I was just, I mean, I know that today, well, I was wondering if you'd, you know, want someone to talk to about it? Cause the school's making it all hush hush and I know, well I don't know obviously, but like in psych we did this whole thing…"

I trailed off before I could say anything worse, cringing at my own awkwardness. Nice job, dude. Real slick.

There was a pause, before the speaker answered,

"Link?"

"Um, yeah."

Another pause, before I pressed the button to speak again.

"Can I come in?"

There was hesitation before:

"Yeah, sure. I'm in my room. Second floor, top of the stairs. The door's open."

The PA system shut off, and I gently opened the door, slipping into her house for the first time. I shut the door behind me, but left it unlocked.

* * *

You're fine Zelda. I would not stop repeating this to myself. Logically I knew that I was okay. There weren't any threats around me. I was in my own home.

There was not much to worry about. The only other person that would be roaming around the house would be the maid.

Except…. I thought I heard a knock. So I walked to a set of controls for the PA system, and said hello.

Turns out it was Link. He should be okay to talk with. I don't want to talk to myself… logically it makes sense to have one person i can talk about this incident with. And he already knows. I wouldn't be able to hide it from him. I talked to myself anyway. It was comforting. All I could tell myself was that it was okay.

"It's okay Zelda. You could use a person to talk to. Zelda He knows. He knows and he saw you smile. And maybe that's why he's here."

I tell myself this as I invite him into my home.

* * *

Her house was incredible. I knew it was big, you can see that just by noticing the outside, but it wasn't until I stepped in that I understood just how BIG this house actually was. I lived in an apartment with just me and my mom, so I suppose anything larger than our two bedroom would seem large, but still, I don't think ceilings were meant to be this high. As awestruck as I was by the size, I was even more dumbfounded by the decor.

The entire place was done in tasteful shades of white and gold, managing to look expensive, modern, and tasteful, without being tacky or overdone. The floor was a magnificent ceramic tile collection, with various shades of pastels dancing through the veins of the stones. The stairs weren't hard to spot, being right in the center of the foyer, like pictures they showed of the Grand Staircase of the Titanic, wide and sweeping upward. I could barely believe this place was real. I headed up the stairs, and sure enough, found her door open.

* * *

Now he was in my doorway. I'm on my bed, sitting and clearly uncomfortable. It was an awkward situation that I had created for myself, and I'm still breathing hard and thinking too much. With the way my brain was processing things, it was all I could do to give him a greeting.

"Hi."

* * *

"Hey."

Cue the awkward silence.

"So um…" I stammered. "I just, uh, wanted to make sure you were okay, even though that's a stupid thing, cause obviously, I mean…"

I trailed off, stopping myself before I said something even stupider.

"The school came up with a story," I told her, trying to find something to say that wasn't more babbling.

* * *

"Oh? They did?" My voice sounded scratchy. I wasn't at all composed. I just don't know what to say to him. I didn't want to ask him about what he saw when he just came here to see how i was doing. He seemed to genuninely care. And maybe he does. You could use someone helpful like that Zelda.

* * *

"Chemical malfunction with the fume hood. Basically the classroom equivalent of a gas leak."

She didn't look great, but not nearly as bad as I would have expected. Once again, Zelda Morna surpassed all normal expectations.

* * *

"Would it be so bad of me to say that I don't care how they covered it up? I honestly... I don't want anyone to know that I was the one that killed him. I haven't even told my father. I don't think I will either. It doesn't even scare me. I of course can't stop thinking about the things that Zant tried to do to me…. I can't handle what this did to me." I felt that I told him too much.

* * *

I was slightly abashed. Of course she wouldn't care about that shit. And I honestly didn't know what to say. What can anyone say in this situation?

"You know, I'm going to Termina too. And uh, I mean, I didn't know what you wanted to do, but I saw the smile and…"

* * *

"You… you did see it?" I wasn't sure if he knew what it meant. "And you didn't find it… strange?" I honestly want to believe that he knew that somehow I had enjoyed what I did. And maybe he could explain all the reasons why I liked what I did. But I happened to know the most important reason. And it was something I had decided to tell myself. Zelda, it was a good deed to dispose of the wicked.

* * *

She turned white and pale as soon as I mentioned the smile.

"I know you. I know you better than you probably know me. And there's many things that you are, but hysterical is not one of them, even in shock."

Moment of truth.

"I think it was more than any of that. And it's okay, I mean, whatever that smile meant, it doesn't matter. I'm here for you, no matter what, and whatever you want to do from this point on...I'll help."

* * *

"What if… we really did get rid of all of these people…. People like Zant who think that they can just get away with these horrible things?"

* * *

I took a deep breath, watching her stare at me with those wide, nervous eyes. I just wanted to hold her, but I knew I couldn't.

"I think the world would be better for it. But we'd have to be careful. Our justice system is bogged down for a reason; they say it's better to let a hundred guilty men go free than let one innocent be imprisoned. If we are to eliminate them, we must be sure that they should be eliminated. Otherwise, we become no better than murderers."

* * *

"I just don't know what gives me the right to decide who should live or die." I feel myself becoming more anxious thinking about it again. "I was the perfect girl. Im supposed to make a speech in front of the whole school tomorrow telling them how much fun these years have been, but I'm really thinking about how much better off the world would be without some of them. And now I'll apply it to all the people in this entire world." I pause here… i wanted him to respond to me before I continued. He did say he'd be here for me. But why?

* * *

"What's the decision? People like that, who do those things, they deserve to die. It's not like you have a limited number of cures for cancer and have to decide who truly gets to live or die. We would be enacting justice."

I didn't even know where I was going with this, but I couldn't get the image of her surrounded by the blood out of my head. If he had hurt her…

But that's just the problem.

"You case isn't unique," I said bluntly. "This sort of thing happens all the time. But the reaction is different. You hear about these cases of convicted rapists getting only a few months, hell, some of them only a few weeks! And those are just the ones reported. What about all the others, all the other people who's lives have been ripped apart by these monsters? Why shouldn't we save them? Why shouldn't we give them the opportunity that you grasped?"

* * *

"I… I just feel that a part of me wants to do this, and another feels so much guilt. I just don't know how to approach it." I could only manage to keep breathing, and I tried to calm down. Zelda you're okay. Just calm yourself down.

* * *

"We don't have to know how to approach this. When the time comes, we will figure it out."

She looked worse, on the verge of breaking down completely.

"For the time being, I think we need to get you something to drink." I smiled in what I hoped was a reassuring way. "If you want to get out of here, my mom makes amazing tea."

* * *

"That… might be nice." For some reason it wasn't strange that he wanted to help me. Even though I felt that I should be afraid. I just wasn't. I continued to tell myself that I was okay around him. Zelda, you can trust this one. He doesn't have any ulterior motives. You'll be just fine.

Even though I wasn't really fine, he seemed to be able to keep me grounded. And I needed that. So I followed him out of my house that day. I followed him around for awhile. I stayed close to him because he calmed me. He was always worried for me. I could tell. And that was okay. Because now I trusted him with all my secrets.

And I would for the rest of my life.

* * *

I was worried for her, but I truly did believe we'd cross that bridge when we got to it. Quests for justice and the greater good aren't solved in a few days. We'd come up with a plan when she was ready.

Turns out, it took two years for her to be sure enough in her mission to take the second step.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello~ Not much to say this time around. Except that this is a week late. Sorry guys, life happens. People get sick. Computers get sick. Still love anyone who's reading this. Leave some feedback! :D**

 _I apologize to my followers for doubling the notifications. There is something I needed to address, and it could not wait._

 **Chapter Three: A Different Kind of Light**

The only reason I was even at the party was because I needed a roommate. The guy who was supposed to lease the apartment with me backed out at the last moment, preferring instead to go live with his girlfriend. And lord know I couldn't afford a place by myself. Otherwise, there's no way in hell I would have gone to a party like this, in an upperclassman's apartment, the lights all dim and everyone drinking and packed in close to each other. But places like this is why you found people on Saturday nights. So, here I was.

* * *

My roommate had insisted on taking me to this party. And yet, she left me as soon as the host started talking to her. As much as I hated being here, I wanted to keep my eye on her. She had a history of coming back to the dorm drunk, and I was almost certain this party was another mistake on her part.

I wasn't obvious about following her, though I doubted anyone noticed my presence. They were all too busy laughing, flirting, drinking, kissing, or any combination of those things. It was honestly hard to move about this room. I don't understand how anyone could have found this appealing.

I looked up and found my roommate drinking. I thought she was already tipsy before we got here, and now this? I believe I was right to stay to watch over her. Even if coming here was her choice, letting her continue to make bad decisions was not something I could do.. I just couldn't shake the feeling that she would need my help.

* * *

I made my way from the front of the party through the throngs of people. I couldn't understand how anyone would find this enjoyable, with the heavy music blasting in my ears and the dim lighting making it impossible to see anyone's face, just a mass of writhing bodies. I was making my way over to the food table when someone rammed into me, knocking me into the wall. It was some guy from the football team, I couldn't remember his name, who was notorious for picking on those of us from track.

"Hey watch it, pipsqueak!"

I found it rather rude that he was yelling at me, when he was the one who rammed into me. Although I supposed those football folks only knew two things: push people over and chase the ball. I also wasn't even that small, I mean, sure, I'm slim, but I'm fairly tall. Sue me for not being a hulk with shoulders too wide for this apartment.

Still, I kept my head down, not wanting to make trouble. A couple of the track guys tried to stand up to him once and ended up in the hospital with black eyes and bloody noses. Besides, there was a dog over by the food table and I wanted to say hi. Dogs often make for better company than people, I've found out.

* * *

Suddenly, I felt something brush against my legs. I looked down and it was a chocolate lab. I really did not have the time to show it proper affection, but I did pet its head before proceeding with looking after my roommate.

"Go find someone that will sit with you for a bit, okay?" I smiled as he squeezed in between the people and out of sight. And then I located my roommate. At this point, she had a larger guy talking to her, and two new drinks were in her hands. At that point, I did not trust her ability to handle herself. I made sure to be close to her from that point on.

The larger guy approached while i was distracted. I didn't trust him once he started leaning in, and touching her shoulders and arms to lead her around the room. They were headed toward the fire escape. My instincts were screaming to help her, but I didn't want to cause a scene. I also had to live with her after this. I didn't want her to be upset with me for taking her away from the party. And she wouldn't go willingly even in her drunken state. Plus, there was the potential for conflict with the guy leading her around. I'm only one, small person with limited ability. How could I help her now?

* * *

I had just been sitting in the corner with the host's dog, a plate of pretzels, and a soda when I saw a flash of familiar blue eyes and brown hair. I gave the lab once last pet on the head, telling him to go lick someone until they pet him and that I'll be back to give him the attention he deserves before following after Zelda. As much as I loved the dog, I still needed to find a roommate and hoped maybe Zelda would know someone who needed one. She tended to be more social than me in high school, and I hope the trend continued into college.

* * *

They were now climbing up the stairs. It was only the two of them, the other two boys lost in the crowd, probably to find other girls to chat with. I went out of the window, following them as silently as I could. I didn't feel like I was quiet enough. There was some kind of feeling telling me that I should be quieter, slower. I felt more like I was watching someone else follow after them, but I continued on nonetheless.

I wasn't close enough behind them to see what they were doing as we all climbed the three flights up. My vantage point was changing as the stairs turned. I saw vague shadows, and heard things like "It's okay baby." or "Shh, you'll be alright".

I shivered. But I told myself that I was fine. Zelda, you need to focus. There were no more voices. They had gotten onto the roof.

* * *

I made my way back through the mass of people as quickly as I could in such a density of bodies. The whole time I kept her in my sight, not wanting to lose her in the dim apartment. I had finally made it to the edge of the "dancing" crowd when she disappeared out the window. Taking a deep breath in, I followed her out onto the rickety fire escape, grasping the railing tightly to make sure the rusty metal would hold. Up ahead, almost to the rooftop, was the dick who ran into me earlier and a small girl who was clearly drunk. I felt awkward, not wanting to intrude on anything, but Zelda was following after them with purpose, and suddenly my desire to simply talk to her turned into a need to protect her and help her. I didn't know what was going on, but something was clearly wrong. So I followed quietly, waiting to jump in if it looked like she was going to get hurt. I knew she could handle herself, she'd proved that years ago, but still...there was that part of me that wanted, needed to protect her. Harm had come to her once before when I couldn't protect her, I wouldn't let anything even close to that happen again.

* * *

I felt my head turning around before I realized it. I saw Link a few paces behind me. I didn't really stop to say anything. He quickened to match my pace however. I didn't mind. He could run down for help or be there to call the police if it comes to that. It was nice to have someone there.

I heard some kind of struggling as we got closer to the roof. I started to go faster. And what I saw horrified me.

There she was, meekly protesting, saying no as loudly as she could, telling him to stop. She was not making much headway, if anything, the guy was pulling her closer. "You can't wear such a thin, tight dress and expect not to get any attention." I felt the memories of what happened to me resurface, but something kept them from consuming me.

I wasn't sure if it was Zant, or some large college student upon her now. But he hit her hard across the face, and it was clear she wasn't responsive anymore. I froze. Oddly coming back to myself as I started to panic. I didn't know what to do anymore.

I was still frozen as I looked on, he adjusted her on his arm, and moved his other hand to go to her thin cotton dress and rip it down the middle. He smiled and licked his lips as he looked at her, pulling her closer and clearly loving how she felt against him. But now she was out in the open, shreds of fabric around her, her dress torn and her body exposed. He was feeling her breasts, smiling as he did it. His hand ran lower and felt her thighs.

I felt the disgusting touch of Zant upon me again. His hands moved inside me again. He was alive and touching me as I protested.

He moved his hands down onto himself, quickly unzipping his jeans and handling his erection. And he said, "It's okay baby, the first time is always the hardest." But this wasn't Zant's voice..

Thoughts of Zant were gone. I wasn't frozen in fear. And I lost control of myself in that moment.

* * *

I stood a few paces behind her when we reached the rooftop and the horrific scene that was unfolding. I felt a similar helplessness that I felt back on that fateful day at the end of high school. Here was someone else who needed help, and yet I didn't know what to do. I was paralyzed by horror and something else, something beyond the disgust and revulsion I felt about the act, some inner fear and terror, the same feeling an ant must feel when the rest of his colony was just stepped upon. Ahead of me, I saw Zelda tense, squaring her shoulders back. Then my world exploded.

* * *

I was looking at what I was doing, but I didn't feel like I was doing it. A different kind of confidence surged through me. My arms were positioned up, pointing at the pair. Light surged around my arms as a pale, almost purple bow manifested into my awaiting hands, the string pulled tightly, as a single arrow was nocked into place.

The arrow flew, making no sound as it traveled. After it was shot, the bow disappeared, and i was moving toward the two. The Arrow was implanted into his neck, and he started sputtering nonsense. I was there, moving the girl away from him and laying her down gently.

And he fell to his knees, his eyes clouded with fear. I didn't stare at him long. I felt myself move back to him, my leg went behind me and suddenly snapped forward, connecting with his face before the motion made me almost spin.

He was down. And I was smiling down at him as his eyes faded.

I was left looking down at my hands.

They had created something I had never been able to before. What was that? And how could I do something like this? I took a step back.

I had done this? Didn't I have control of my own person? Of my own body? I am not capable of this! What's happening to me?

There was no telling myself to calm down. I couldn't access the part of me that would let me be calm.

So I ran. I shoved Link away as he came up to me, and I ran down the steps as fast as I could. I saw someone else coming up as i was going down. I raced by them. I couldn't think. I couldn't even answer my own questions, how could I answer anyone else's?

* * *

I was momentarily blinded by the flare of lavender light ahead. Somehow, incredibly, Zelda was now holding a bow made of pure light with an arrow already on the string. She let it fly, and the ass collapsed to the ground, with the arrow lodged firmly in his throat. He dropped immediately, twitching and spluttering on the ground, his hands clasped futily to his throat. Zelda caught the girl as she fell, laying her gently on the ground, before kicking the ass in his face, smiling as she watched him die.

In that moment, I didn't know her.

Suddenly, a change came over her, and as I stepped forward towards her, she ran past me, knocking me over in her hurry. I fell, my hands outstretched to brace myself against the hard metal of the fire escape I still stood on. The rusty iron cut my palms, slicing them open in a jagged pattern. I hardly paid attention.

I ran towards the girl lying on the ground, taking her pulse on her wrist quickly before yelling for help. I unzipped my sweatshirt to put it over her, trying to preserve some of the poor girl's modesty. A thundering of feet stampeded up the fire escape, and suddenly I was surrounded by people, all in various states of hysteria. A couple people screamed, seeing the body, with the arrow mysteriously absent, leaving the body lying in a familiar pool of blood. I quickly pulled aside one of my teammates from track who seemed to still have his head, told him to call 911 and take care of the girl, who had passed out but was coming to. Then I pushed through the crowd and raced after Zelda, clenching my hands to stem the blood coming from my palms.

* * *

This wasn't real. I didn't do this. I can't accept the fact that it was my hands that contributed to this.

I saw a bench and i went to sit on it. It was dark, but I hardly noticed. I was looking mostly at my hands.

I've always had magic. It runs in our family. Any Morna female is gifted with the ability to heal. A golden glow radiates from our hands when we use our gifts.

But this… this was something that i've never seen. It wasn't even the same color as my magic.

So how did this happen? How did i do this?

I felt so dizzy. I even felt like i could vomit. The fact that I killed someone again isn't something that I wanted to think about. And whatever took hold of me wasn't a part of who I was.

I felt the presence of someone next to me. And I thought it was Link, so I made no move to comment or look at him.

* * *

I spotted her up ahead in the moonlight, sitting on a bench. The streetlights in this area had burned out, casting her in almost pure darkness, but I'd spot her anywhere. She sat hunched forward, her head in her hands. I approached her slowly, sitting down next to her in silence. It was only when I went to grasp the bench on either side of me that I made noise, gasping in pain as my bleeding palms brushed against the soft wood.

She looked over at me, her eyes muted for the first time.

"You're hurt," she whispered softly, taking my hands in hers.

"Zelda," I started to ask, "What was that light ba-"

I was cut off as a soft glow illuminated her hands as she passed them over mine, light spreading from her palms as the cuts on mine absorbed it, itching as the cuts closed and knit themselves back together. The whole thing happened in only a few seconds, but in those few seconds, such a warmth spread through my hands, up and into my chest and body that I unwillingly let out a small moan, letting the warmth absorb me.

And then it was gone, the world back in the darkness. I stared at my healed palms in wonder, looking up to meet Zelda's eyes as they rolled back in her head and she collapsed, almost sliding off the bench as I caught her. I laid her back onto the bench slowly, hoping she would wake up. She gave no hints of movement, but her chest steadily rose and fell with her breath.

"Shit shit shit shit shit, Zelda, wake up, please wake up," I pleaded.

I didn't know where she lived, I didn't know what to do with her. I couldn't take her to the hospital. What would I say, that she passed out after doing...magic?

That had to be what it was. Magic. The bow. The healing. I remembered rumors that circulated about her mother back when I was little. I always dismissed them as children's fantasies. But now...

But that didn't matter. What mattered was that I had a passed out girl on my hands, a girl who had just killed someone for the second time, a girl who clearly needed help.

I did the only thing I could. I gathered her in my arms, careful to keep her head from tilting back, and carried her back to my place, careful to avoid anyone. I laid her on my bed, pulling a throw blanket over her to try and make her comfortable, then curled up on the floor next to the bed and fell asleep, exhausted from everything that happened that night.

* * *

I felt comfortable, but I was tangled inside of a blanket. But it wasn't mine.

In fact, this room wasn't mine.

I didn't know what had happened, but nothing on my person was changed. Even my shoes were still on my feet. I was almost certain that nothing went on physically. But why would I be here?

I didn't want to think about it much longer, so I moved to get up.

Then I saw Link. He was on the ground, curled into a ball. I relaxed a bit seeing it was someone I knew. And looking at him, It was almost like he was a dog.

I remembered last night as I thought of why Link would be here. I remember feeling dizzy, and talking to him. He had cuts on his hands. I must have passed out after healing him. That makes sense. And he isn't the type to want to harm me. So I don't think I have anything to worry about.

I moved again, thinking that I should leave. This wasn't my dorm after all. And I'm not sure I should stay here, even if he is a trustworthy person. But, he opened his eyes as I began to stand up from the bed. He stood up as well.

"I guess… we have a lot to talk about."

* * *

 **To the Guest who left me a very rude review:**

 **I would prefer to be messaged about things of that nature. Maybe you don't have an account, but even if this is your only way of communicating with me, your second review was extremely rude and unnecessary. I removed both of your reviews because of this. I was unsure how to respond to your first, and thus I did not respond at all. We're going in a different direction than what you thought. But if you're going to respond to my work in a condescending way, I don't wish to respond to you. I don't think anyone would. I would appreciate it if you didn't treat my friend and I like idiots because you expressed your opinion, and clearly think it's better than what anyone else could write to us. Thank you for your time, Guest. But please, cease your rude behavior.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Here it is… early! We apologize for the last two updates being late. Enjoy guys!**

 _Side note: I left a note at the end of the last chapter. I apologize if that made anyone feel uncomfortable. This is why if you have a problem with me, you should find a way to message me privately. (I am pretty non-confrontational, I only react to negative things when required to.) Again, apologies, and I hope you have some fun reading._

 **Chapter Four: All About the Chase**

"So you're telling me, some college kid died last night holding his dick in his hands?"

I definitely needed a raise.

"Died approximately at 11:30 last night. Witnesses reporting a bright flash of light around time of death. No determined cause of death as of yet. Trauma to the neck area, with marks similar to those of concentrated burns. Small traces of radiation along puncture wound," my partner, Impa, summarized. She'd already had her mandatory cup of coffee, and the second was in her hand.

I sighed, wishing I hadn't given up caffeine two years ago. No way I was gonna let some college shithead make me fall off the wagon.

"Any suspects?"

Impa shrugged. "Just your usual. Apparently he was trying to rape a girl when he was killed, so - "

"Did this girl witness how he died?" one of the newer members to the squad asked. "That would make things a lot easier."

I rolled my eyes. This fucking idiot.

"If she had known how he died, Impa would have led with that."

The rookie looked rebuked. "Sorry, Mid-I mean, Detective Dämmerung," he corrected himself. Good. Impa was the only one who had called me Midna and didn't need to spend time in the hospital afterward.

"The girl doesn't remember anything," Impa said briskly, ever the professional. Just admit it Impa, this idiotic prick is annoying you too... "Apparently she was drinking even before going to the party, so the last thing she remembers is her roommate asking her not to go before waking up this morning in the hospital."

I was jealous. I hadn't had a real night out in years. Too many cases. Not enough time in the day to get quite that hammered.

But even after a bit of lament for the loss of my partying days, I perked up when i thought of the roommate. Maybe that would actually lead me somewhere.

"This roommate of hers, do we have a file on her?"

I had no key suspects or witnesses. Might as well see what this girl has done. In my entire career, I've only had four cases go unsolved. I would have accepted anything so long as it lead to some kind of answer.

Impa laid three files on the table in front of me, one much larger than the other two. Paperclipped to the front of the two smaller files were what looked like old school photos of two teenagers, a boy with dirty blonde hair and blue-gray eyes, and a girl with brown hair and sharp blue eyes. The third and larger file had a mug shot of an older man, with a bright red stamp reading "DECEASED" scrawled across.

I rifled through them, scanning quickly before putting them down and asking, "Has anyone contacted these two? Especially Miss Morna."

Impa nodded, "I thought you might be interested so I had a few people look into it. The girl, ah, 'slept over' at the boy's apartment last night. A few students saw her leave his room in the morning, and their stories all match. Neither of them were seen at the party, and everyone spoken to even said that they have never been to any... activities like this."

It wasn't the best alibi, though I guess I've heard of worse. But still...what were the odds that the same girl who killed her attempted rapist would be a student at this school at the time of this case?

After reading further into the files and doing some quick calculations, I realized the odds were higher than I originally thought. This Morna girl wasn't the guy's first victim. Turns out Zant, as his name was, was a documented child molester in Witness Protection. The girl clearly acted in self defense, and I knew that sexual assault cases on college campuses were far higher than many schools report. I did not see a way for Zelda to fit into this incident without someone mentioning her at the party… Well shit. There wasn't enough here to warrant further investigation into this girl. Not to mention there's absolutely nothing on this boy of hers.

I sighed, closing the files. It was time to look at what I did have.

"Alright," I said dejectedly. "Let's see this damn body."

* * *

I spent too much fucking time in morgues.

Any time spent in a morgue was too much time, but when you already know the entire layout of the place? That's just a problem.

It was just me and Impa, we left the others back at the office, telling them to man the phones and keep talking to every soul that was at that party. Even if they had to interrogate the rats, I wanted some damn answers. No one questioned us. Not even the rookie that spoke up earlier. Impa and I had been partners in charge of our unit for so long, everyone knew to respect our authority.

I glanced through the chart of the coroner's report while Impa rolled the body out, unzipping the black bag that covered them in the holding cells.

"So, it says here that he died of blood loss and trauma to the throat, but…" I trailed off as I caught sight of the body.

It was large, larger than most. Then again, being a football player, I supposed that was part of the description. But that wasn't the most startling part.

Its throat was ripped open in such a way that seemed vaguely reminiscent of a bullet wound, and yet it was larger and not as symmetrical. There were no exit wounds and clearly no signs of hydrostatic shock that accompany bullet wounds. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say the wound was caused by some sort of thick, triangular blade, almost like…

An arrow.

Gasping slightly, causing Impa to turn towards me inquisitively, I searched through my phone quickly, holding up a single finger to Impa until I found what I was looking for: pictures from my uncle's hunting trip. I zoomed in on one of the photos of a dead duck, focusing in on the wound. It was slightly different from the wound in the corpse's neck, which was not unexpected, but sure enough, they were a close enough match that I became convinced this wound was caused by an arrow.

Impa leaned closer, glancing at the photo over my shoulder.

"Is that...a dead duck?"

"Yes," I said nonchalantly, slipping my phone into my back pocket.

Impa was silent for a heartbeat, then asked, "Why?"

"My uncle goes on hunting trips, he's a bit old fashioned, likes to use fancy ass compact bows instead of guns."

"And you think…"

She trailed off, not having to finish. I love how intelligent Impa is. I may have always been one step ahead, but she was never far behind.

"Yes."

She was silent once more, absorbing the idea.

"But what about the burn marks?"

I sighed.

"That, I don't know."

I fucking hated admitting that.

I examined the body once more, paying attention to the burn marks. They didn't look like the normal patterns caused by fire. The trauma was there, but the pattern was all wrong.

Impa sucked in a breath before saying, "It's almost as if…" She hesitated, before continuing, "as if he was shot by an arrow of pure energy. These markings," she gestured towards the corpse's neck," they're similar to those displayed on radiation victims."

"And what is radiation but energy?" I muttered. "How long did the residual radiation last?"

Impa checked the report.

"Only a few hours, it was fairly low levels."

I hummed quietly, twirling my pen through my fingers as I thought.

"And you said he died holding his dick in his hands?" I laughed. "What a way to go."

Impa glared at me.

"Is that really what you're focusing on?"

I shrugged, winking at her.

"Sorry, I just can't see why anyone would want to touch one, even if it was attached to them."

Impa rolled her eyes.

"We done here?"

I sighed, returning to seriousness.

"Yeah, we're done. Got all we can."

I was grateful to feel the sun on my face when we finally left. It wasn't a productive day, but someone from the magical communities had to have done this. That's something even more interesting than the rest of the info we had.

"Well Impa, I think there's a new magic in town."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Not much to say. Just Enjoy.**

 **Chapter 5** **: Of Magic and Men**

Here I was, thinking about what had happened again. Link had asked me so many questions, and I had no idea how to answer them. I had asked myself many of the same questions already.

"I can't even begin to describe this to you. I wasn't myself in that moment. Sure it was my hands and legs that did such powerful things, but It wasn't actually me." I sighed, holding my head in my hands again.

"I guess what will help you the most right now is understanding magic." I saw Link nod at my suggestion. "Then I'll describe this as briefly as I can…"

* * *

So it was magic. I nodded, trying not to let on how freaked out I was.

* * *

"There are a few different kinds of magic hidden in society. The one I'm sure you've heard of is that of the Sheikah race, shadow magic. But you never really see it in public. Sheikah are known for using illusions and manipulating the dark, but their tribe generally refrains from using it for evil. They use their magic to bring them closer to the deceased in most cases. The magic itself is associated with the color purple and the supernatural. I just love that most of our ghost theories come from their encounters with things they have tried to connect with. It's also quite interesting when you think about how their society works. I love to-" I stopped myself. I had been studying theories surrounding the Sheikah tribe recently. This would turn into a history lesson if I kept going. "I'm sorry we're not here to talk about the Sheikah, I'm getting very distracted. Anyway, it's no coincidence that you only hear rumors of their magic. Magical communities keep things like this quiet because the amount of magical races is in decline. It would certainly make the general masses envious, or even scared to know that magic does, in fact, exist." I stopped to make sure he was following me.

Seeing that he was quite concentrated on my words, I continued. "Now. As for the groups you've heard nothing about. Another race that is generally gifted with magic is the Twili. A lot of it is teleportation and some shapeshifting. The shape shifting is actually rather amazing. The forms created are less realistic, and more of an effect. For example, if a Twili wished to be a wolf, it would seem black, with blue or orange lines extending to create patterns on the 'skin'. However, even though the Twili are the only race that can use the abilities, for some reason it requires a form of 'awakening'." Once again I pause to study Link. He was still listening, clearly waiting for me to finish my rambling before he spoke. I could only hope I explained everything to him in enough detail without causing confusion. I did not have the time to go over every aspect of magical communities, or address how secret they were. I only knew about these things because I had the ability to use healing.

"Another magical community is actually centered around my family, the Mornas. Each female in my family is gifted with a form of healing. This is a form of light magic, highly regarded because of how much power it takes to actually have an effect on the human body. Other families that held different talents sort of congregated into a society around us. Light magic is more of a carefree and emotional response to the world. It's generally in a gold color, and other than healing can be used to create physical objects. Most users create shapes or effects, like small butterflies. A group can even work together to create golden fireworks. I'll discuss this again later, for now I would like to mention that there is a dangerous magical practice.

"Dark magic is a corrupt one, used to influence the mind and body, often used for torture. I cannot speak much for the abilities that dark magic users possess. But, they do have an underground society that deals in most of the illegal things that you hear about. It's kept under wraps because dark magic isn't something that can generally be seen. There's a couple of different families involved in dark magic, even those of us in the magical community aren't aware of everyone's identities. Magic users can generally sense other magic, but if you're talented enough, you can hide it. Most people in the magical communities know of my family, at least, that there's a family of female light magic users, but no one knows the name. We keep ourselves hidden even from each other, mostly because dark magic practitioners could target other members of the community for personal power. Are you still following? Let me know if you need clarification, or do you perhaps have a question?" I paused.

* * *

I honestly didn't know how to respond. Everything she was talking about, it was just something kids joked about, like folk tales and urban legends. There was no way any of that could be true.

Except...I saw that bow with my own eyes, felt my hands stitch themselves back together from her magic.

That bow...she explained everything except for that. And I knew her, she wouldn't omit a huge thing like that because she forgot. There were only two reasons why she wouldn't mention it: she didn't know what caused it either, or she was scared. Possibly both.

Either way, I wasn't going to press her on the subject.

"Yeah," I responded slowly. "I guess I just have one." I looked straight at her, and she seemed unnerved. "Are you okay?"

For the first time, she seemed at a loss. She could go on about anything - physics, magic, history, probably even the acidity of certain types of soil. The girl knew everything.

But she never stopped to worry about herself.

And that broke my heart.

* * *

I wasn't ready for him to focus in on me. How could I tell him that it seemed like I was possessed last night? It didn't even make any sense to me… There's no way I could explain it to him.

But I did have to answer his question. "I'm…" I still didn't have much of an answer. I could barely think of anything except magic. And what kind was that magic that "I" used?

"I think I'm okay." And it wasn't a complete lie, I could think rationally about the bow I created.

Still, it didn't help that I couldn't seem to access my usual methods of calming myself. I certainly can't tell Link that I felt calmer hearing a different voice tell me that everything was fine.

* * *

I didn't believe her. She was too shaken to be okay. But I wasn't going to push her. I just had to trust that she knew herself well enough that she'd do what she could to end up being okay in the end.

But I did have to ask…

"What about the bow?"

I asked so quietly I wouldn't have been surprised if she hadn't heard, but she took a breath, her hands clenching tightly. I immediately felt awful.

"I'm so sorry," I stammered. "I didn't want to upset you, I was just curious, and -"

* * *

I was hoping he wouldn't think about it for awhile. I hoped when I mentioned light magic and it's extra capabilities he would just associate with that. He clearly doesn't have knowledge of the magical communities, I shouldn't have this much troubled evading the question.

I don't want to be rude…. I just can't explain it to myself.

"I…" What could I say? I was either losing my mind, or I blocked off a portion of it. I felt that something was missing since I woke up this morning. But I just can't tell him that.

Link is trustworthy. I know this, but I still hesitate to tell him something that's so insane. I'm missing a voice in my head. That has to be what it is. And that seems normal, like I'm missing my conscience. Everyone mentions that at some point right.

I had been thinking about this for too long, Link's face was contorting into a look of pure sadness. I couldn't just hurt his feelings like this. But I just don't know.

"I think… I just don't know how to put it into words. I'm sorry." I wasn't lying. At the very least, I could say that.

* * *

"It's okay," I assured her. "You don't have to."

I almost reached for her hand, then thought better of it. Instead I took a breath, before saying, "All you have to do is tell me what you want to do now."

* * *

He always asked me that question. And I still didn't understand why exactly. But I was still happy to know that there was someone who didn't shy away from me for any reason.

* * *

She wasn't answering, and I was worried I'd said something wrong. I remembered back to the first time something like this had happened, the first time we had ever sat down and had a legitimate conversation.

"There's plenty of other people like those dicks out in the world," I said, staring down at my lap. "You said yourself, they deserve to die for their crimes. So I guess I was wondering, well, if you'd ever want help, with making that happen…."

I trailed off, worried I'd misjudged her.

* * *

I wasn't ready for this either. He's clearly here to help me and I have no way to respond to him. It's not okay for me to pass judgement. I told him this as well.

"I'm sorry Link. I'm not ready to have this conversation. I'm not qualified for it."

And I regretted the decision, but I walked out on him.

* * *

I stared as she walked out, not surprised, but still disappointed as her soft brown hair swept out through the doorway, the door shutting quietly behind her. Still, I couldn't help smiling. This was the most she'd opened up to me, probably the most she'd opened up to anyone.

Zelda was different, not in a necessarily good or bad way, just in a different way. I'd always known that, but this just proved it. She was magic, actually magic. The healing, and that bow…

I didn't fully understand it all, but I understood enough to know that she needed protection. That she needed me, even if she didn't know it herself yet.

I looked down at my hands, my hands with no trace of their injury from last night, and smiled, closing them tight, and promised to myself and to her that I would never let anything bad happen to her again.

* * *

I would have to apologize to Link later. It wasn't exactly right of me to walk out like that. But I needed to think about myself further. Not only think… just rationalize the entire situation I had put myself into.

I was not going to avoid him after this point. I knew that he was very willing to help me. And he was definitely still supportive, despite last night's event. I at least could rely on him when I could ask for help.

Right now I don't think anyone else could help me… I couldn't help but think of the bow once again. It was certainly my magic. I knew that. But it was a hybrid form. Some kind of combination of different magics.

The fact that it came from me was something I found interesting, but I was still concerned. I was once exposed to sheikah magic, and it did have a purple hue… I could only assume it was a mix of those. Nothing else made sense. But what would activate it.

Most people would explain this with simple instinct I'm sure. But this… it couldn't be. I was too far out of control, out of touch with myself.

I couldn't think of how I could have been so out of control, I could never take action… there was the exception when I was in danger myself. But I had to be honest. I could never muster the courage to help other people during any form of confrontation.

And I found myself putting in a few puzzle pieces:

I started referring to myself in the third person after the incident with Zant. It was natural, so I did it a lot.

That voice became separate from mine at some point. I was not sure when it started to have it's own tone, but I accepted it because it comforted me.

Sometimes I would have a lapse in my memories. I was never able to explain these incidents, but I always made it into a sign of fatigue. This seemed wrong. I even forgot more and more about unpleasant memories.

Recently, the voice became more and more prominent. It had more things to tell me, and more ways to help me.

The voice itself hadn't been present since the night before.. It would have made more sense for it to be here while I was still concerned over the bow.

And the bow was another thing I couldn't look past. I may have the ability hidden somewhere within me, but I certainly should have been able to access it during the time I was trapped with Zant. But I couldn't even during a time I was in crisis. It couldn't have been me.

That was just it. Maybe… maybe it really wasn't me.

So I took a chance. I spoke aloud, trying to reach wherever the voice that calmed me came from.

"Hello?"

* * *

"You're quite brilliant, but this sure took you a while. How are you doing, sweetheart?"


End file.
